Wall assembly



March 9, 1937. P. A. VOIGT WALL ASSEMBLY Filed Dec. 28, i534 INVENTOR.Paul A. Voi t. z%

A TTORNEYZ Patented Mar. 9, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE WALLASSEMBLY Application December 28, 1934, Serial No. 759,533

ticularly to asuspended ceiling, and to panels for engagement therein.

There have been made heretofore many types of structures includingassembled preformed pan.

els. Also, much study has been given to the problem 'of fastening panelsin such an assembly so that they may be removed intact from a forwardposition, without the exposure on the face of the panel, in theassembly, of fastening means or of holes through which tools may beintroduced for making the disengagement. Furthermore,

there has been desired the minimizing of the conspicuous shadow effectat the joints between abutting panels.

The preferred embodiment of the present invention comprises thestructure and panels described, which make possible the removal of apanel, without injury, from the completed assembly. Also, the inventioncomprises a wall assembly having obliquely extending joints betweenadjacent panels, whereby the objectionable shadow effect is minimized oreliminated. Theinvention comprises, also, improved means for supportingsound-absorbing material independently of the panels of facing.material.

The invention will be described in connection with the attached drawingwhich illustrates an embodiment of the invention and in which Fig. 1shows a sectional perspective view of a suspended ceiling constructed inaccordance with the invention, with parts broken away for clearness ofillustration; and

a Fig. 2 shows a sectional view of a portion of a modified form ofassembly.

There are shown a supporting superstructure including beams I that maybe a part of an overlying fioor (not shown) and spaced supports such asthe formed metal sections 2 secured to the said beams.

The metal sections may be of any convenient shape having each, at theirlower portion, a hori- At the opposite edge, the panel abuts against theedge of an adjacent panel, the said adjacent panel directly engaging thesuperstructure and thus restricting the lateral movement of thefirstmentioned panel. i. Thus, the panels maybe provided each at oneedge with a hook-like portion 1, either continuous or discontinuous,which opens on the side thereof turned towards the main portion (inside)of the panel and which engages the laterally extending element 3, asillustrated. At the opposite edge the panels may have each an offsetportion 8 which engages the portion 1 .of an adjacent panel and abutsthereagainst to form the joint 9. It will be noted that the offsetportion 8 of the panel is engaged over the uppermost 10 part of the edgeportion of the abutting panel.

Suitably the intermediate parts of the said hook-like and offsetportions extend diagonally (obliquely) with respect to the plane of theface of the panels and define therebetween the joint 9 that in thefinished assembly likewise extends obliquely with respect to the saidplane. The meeting zone suitably extends obliquely with respect to theplane of the lower face of the panel at the edge thereof provided withthe offset por- 20 tion. This obliquity of the joint serves to decreasethe shadow eflzect seen by an observer standing, forexample,substantially directly below the joint, inasmuch as the observers lineof vision extends into such a joint substantially less 25 than the fulldepth thereof.

The free space defined in the superstructure above the element 3 permitsthe edge of the panel provided with the offset portion 8 to be raisedfrom the position shown in Fig. 1 by an amount in excess of theelevation of the uppermost part of the offset portion above the face ofthe panel, and thus makes possible the lateral movement. or sliding ofthe hook-like edge of the adjacent panel under the raised panel and fromdisengagement with the supporting element 3.

The obliquity of the said joint also facilitates the raising of thepanelat the edge portion provided with the offset 8 and makes possiblethe tightening of the abutment between adjacent 40 panels by a veryslight wedging action.

The degree of obliquity of the joints'may be varied within limits. Thesmaller angle between the plane of the joint and the plane of the faceof the assembly should difier substantially from 5:

a right angle if the shadow effect is to be minimized. An angle that maybe used satisfactorily is one of the order of forty-five degrees.

With panels of facing material that cannot conveniently be provided withintegral hook or 50 offset portions, these features may be supplied asseparate elements. Thus, panels l0 (Fig. 2) of substantial thickness,such as compressed and hardened'sheets of asbestos and Portland cement,may be provided at opposite edge portions 55 with hook-like members l2and the offset members.l3, either continuous (strips) or discontinuous(narrow clips). The edge portions of the abutting panels l may bechamfered, to define 5 therebetween the oblique joint M of minimizedshadow eifect, as illustrated.

The hook-like member or portion, say element l2, may have an upstandingspringy beaded=portion provided with a recess I8 adapted to engage 10the offset edge of an abutting panel. This enagement minimizes thetendency of the panels to rattle or to become accidentally displacedwith ,respect to each other. This construction is especially desirablein a side wall of a structure, al-

though not necessary in other walls, which, as

I use the term, include ceilings. Felt II also reduces rattling.

When the assembly is to be sound-absorbing, the panels may be apertured,as at positions I5,

to admit incident sound readily, and associated with sound-absorbingmaterial 16, such as pads of rock wool or the like. This material may bespaced from the panels, as by being supported on a suitable bridgingsupported between and 5 by adjacent supports at a position above thepanels, as, for example, on the wire I! strung between adjacent sides ofsupporting sections 2. This supporting of the sound-absorbing material I6 above the panels and independently thereof facilitates the removal orsubstitution of a panel,

without disturbance of the said material.

When there are used the supporting sections .having a midportion fromwhich the flange 3 extends laterally, such as the sections 2 of formedmetal, the edge of the panel which directly engages the flange shouldextend beyond the said midportion and preferably beyond the outermostedge of the forward portion or flange, in order that the edge of theadjacent panel may abut against the engaging edge and yet bedisplaceable backwardly with respect to the face of the assembly,without striking any part of the said supporting section. Asillustrated, the sections are of modified Z-shape.

The details that have been given are for the purpose of illustration,not restriction. It is intended that variations within the spirit of theinvention should be included within the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. A ceiling assembly comprising a plurality of spaced supportsincluding elements extending horizontally from the lower portions of thesaid supports and a plurality of panels of facing material supportedupon the said elements, the panels being provided each at one edge witha hook-like portion engaging one of the said elements and at theopposite edge with an offset portion abutting against the hook-likeportion of an adjacent panel, being engaged thereover, and preventingmovement of the said hook-like portion in direction away from the saidone of the elements and the said elements defining there above a freespace permitting raising the said offset portion from its position ofrest upon a said hook-like portion to permit lateral movement of thehook-like portion of one panel under the face portion of an adjacentpanel. v

2. A structure of the type described in claim 1 having the saidhook-like and ofiset portions constituted of independent members securedto opposite edges of the said panels.

3. A wall assembly comprising spaced supports, a panel supported thereonand extending at an edge portion laterally beyond the forward portion ofone of the said supports, and another panel abutting at an edge againstthe said edge portion, resting freely thereupon, and being displaceableat the said edge backwardly with respect to the plane of thefirst-mentioned panel.

4. Panels of the type described comprising 1 each a hook-like edgeportion having an vupstanding springy beaded element provided with arecess and an opposed offset edge portion, the said recess being adaptedto engage the offset edge of an adjacent panel.

5. A ceiling assembly as described in claim 1, adjacent panels abuttingin a zone extending obliquely with respect to the plane of the lowerface of the panel at the edge thereof provided with the said offsetportion, whereby this panel is wedged against the edge of the adjacentpanel at the said zone.

6. A panel adapted for use in the assembly described in claim 1comprising a hook-like edge portion, open on the side thereof turnedtowards the main body of the panel, for engaging one of the saidelements, and an opposed offset edge portion adapted to be engaged overand to conform approximately to a similar hook-like edge portion 01' anadjacent panel.

. PAUL A. VOIG'I'.

